Physical conditioning machine



Dec. 1, 1959 E. R. AMMoN PHYSICAL CONDITIONING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet -l Filed March 1, 1956 Dec. 1, 1959 E. R. AMMON PHYSICAL CONDITIONING MACHINE` 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed-March l, 1956 wml/h INVENTOR an/aka @Avv/mvv,

ATTORNEYS United States Patent This 'invention relates to devices for exercising the human body and y'more particularly to a machine for effecting massage or vibratory movement thereof.

"It is an object of the invention `to provide a structure whereon a person may lie prone while being subjected to a certain massaging or vibratory action which tones up the system and effects a relaxing' result.- A

- It is a" further object of thel invention to provide a device wherein a'massaging or vibratory effect is produced on a prone body while the body is in traction from head to foot.

It is an additional object of the invention to provide a ,Peerage ,1.1959

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passes through aligned perforations'SZ in the angle"i'rnsl 26 and through a perforation 433 in the bar 20 in a readily understood manner. Thus, the pin 30 may be utilized topass through any of Athe perforations 32 lin the bar 20 so as lto hold the bark in any adjusted position. The

j outer end of the bar is provided with a foot gripping" device comprising rollers 38 arranged in an upper and lower pair as shown and which engage the feet of` a per-v son being treated, against the instep and at/the heel. The roller 38 may be carried on rods40 `which are supv` ported in a bracket 42 lsuitablysecured to the'bar 20.f Thus, each foot of the person being treated is engaged by the upper and lower roller 38, as seen on Fig. 1. j'

The head end of the table is provided with a convert# tional longitudinally adjustable head harness 44 secured to an upright bar 48 which isuinturn fastened to a panel l 52 slidable ,on table .12,whi'ch lmaybe moved to "tllfe` left as viewed in Fig. 1.1 l v Panel 52 is of the same thickness as panel 13 and is guided by a T.shaped stri-p53 `fastened to table 12 and,M

protruding into aV groove in panel 52 as shown in Fig. 4.

Metal bearing strips 55 may befastened vto table 12.

construction which will be simple and rugged innature i and which may be economically manufactured.

Inkeeping with the above objects, my ini'fentioncom-i prises, basically, a table on which a person ma'yrestand which table is equipped with means for placing such person in traction at his head and feet Vso that the entire bodyl is fully stretched. A portion of the table atan intermediate section `is so constructed `as to have a gyrating motion.r This portionlof the table is directly below the small of the back of the person being treated so that a considerable portion of` his weight .rests thereon. Mech anism is incorporated in the table for .effecting .proper motion of this intermediate portion. in such amanner that a massaging action at the small of the back is transmitted throughout the entire body by virtue of the traction provided.

I have foundiby 'actual testing that the effects produced.`

up of the body anda `feeling of well being. This is in,

contrast to otherforms of vibrating machines whichhave merelya local effect; that is, at the' point of application ofV a` `vibratory element. AA detailed description of my invention will now be given inv conjunction with the appended drawing in which: i Fig. lv' a 'de elevation'of the entire device.

Fig. 2 isa plan viewof the device.

'f1-iig. 4^is ansection through 4--44 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 5 illustrates a detail of a portion of the 'mechanism shown in elevation. i

With reference tofthe drawing, my invention comprises` a' tablev 10 having a head end at the left (Fig. 1) and a leg end at the rightand which comprises a single length of board 12 extending from headto foot of the table and supported on legs 16. `At the leg end of the table a board 13 is. secured to board 12 to give doubl-e thickness. Below the leg end of the board 12 as viewed on Fig. l a bar 20 iscarried on spacer elements 22 whichare secured between angle irons 26 fastened to the bottom` of the table 12 as by screws or the like. It will be understood that the bar 20 may be pulled out longitudinally of the 'table to any -position desired, being secured insuch position, as'A by a pin.30 (Fig. 2) which A person as shown inphantom lines lying supine on the table would be stretched throughout the length of his body by moving the horizontal panel 52 tothe left, `tension being then applied'at the head and feet.-

In order to `further increase'the tensile force on the t., body, the panel M52 carries a` pair ,of `elements56 for en-Ir gagement in the arm pits of aperson being treated. These elements S6 are preferablycurved as ,shown and'are of',

, sufcient height and widthto distribute stress Vbelow the,

4 shoulders oyer a fairly wide area. Elements 56-are carried on swingable arms 58 Apivoted on postrs62 to a respec tive .anglebracket 66, fastened to the islidablepanel 52 so as to move therewith.

In orderhto accommodate lthe device.to persons of.: various size the posts 62 may1 be adjusted laterally` so. astobe secured in various apertures 67 in brackets 66. Thus, the posts may comprise merely bolts and surround" ing collars of known'construction, Y l 'i I j f t `The mode of effecting movement ofjthepanel 52 is by:

' a lever 70 as best shownin Figs. 4 and 5,;,which lever is keyed to a shaft V'72 that passes 'through ange'plates f 76 secured to the slidable panel 52. Thus, the lever can .f beV rocked back and forth causing oscillation of shaft 72 and may be positioned so 'as tofbe operated byaxpera;

son lying on the table. lKeyed to shaft-E72, centallyi located below the table, is a shortlever()` which carries a pawl 82 at a pivot point 84:4 The point ofthe-pawl" engages teeth 88 of a rack'90which rack is vfixed as by p a bolt and spacer arrangement 95 at eachenditdthel" bottom of the stationary table 12. .Accordingly, itlwill l be apparent` that the lever 70 and theurpawl 82'; being; fixed to the sliding panel 52, when thehandle Tofthe' lever is swung counterclockwise as viewed onFig. l, the

n pawl 82 will catch in one of the teeth88 and forcev the panel 52 to slide to the left as the motion of the lever continues. A gravity-operated holding pawl 92 -is piv" otally carried on a shaft 93 between the plates 76 `and it?? will be understood that as this pawl moves to'fthelleft* the'point will engage in any .tooth below tof hold the i panel 52 from reversing its motion dueto the'longi't'udi-'l nal'fiexibility of the humanbody. n Thusybyoperation of the. handle the vpanel 52 may befreciprocated' to thefleftto a suiicient degree 'to place a suitable amount,

kof traction on a person resting on the table. `When it 'gagemen't with the rack 90.

Aisidesired to release the tractiomthe handle 70' mayber" swung clockwise whereupon the bottorn'portio'n 96 of 'i the lever will strike the finger 100 of pawl 9 2""(fasi"" shownlin dot-dash lines) yto rotate this pailhouto Brom the foregoing it will be apparent that actuation of handle 70 will effect traction on a person resting on the table, the main portion of the stress being via the armpit engaging elements 56 and a somewhat smaller degree of tension being eleetedthrough the head harness 44. v

The table is preferably covered with a foam rubber matting such as 102. Two pieces are used in this instance, the head portion 104 being provided with a suitable cut-out 106 as shown on Fig. 2 so that the back of the head may protrude through the foam rubber covering 105. A cut-out '7 isl provided in table 12 to give clearance to the back of the persons head which is actually suspended by the tension in harness 44.

Approximately centrally of the table, where the area of the small of the back would repose, a cavity 110 exists in the space betweenv plate 13 and panel 52, as shown on Fig. 3, and secured in this cavity is a plate 114 to which is secured a suitable metallic wear plate 116. A plate 120 is disposed below the table 12 and bolts 122 are utilized to hold the plates 114 and 120 to the table 12. Plates 114 and 120 may be circular, or square and have central apertures to carry ball bearings such as 126 and 128 through which passes a rotary shaft 132 rotated by a motor 136 through a belt and pulley stem to be described. The upper end of the shaft has an olf-center pin 140, the eccentricity of which may be adjustable. I have founda 3/32" throw is suitable for operation of my device, but considerably greater eccentricity, e.g. up to 1% or more is feasible. The pin extends into a ball bearing 142 carried in a plate 146 of generally rectangular plan but arcuate in sectional elevation. This plate 146 may be made of any suitable material and may be either hollow or solid. The plate 146 is carried by suitable bearings 150 which may be individual balls set in the plate or a complete ring bearing. In the illustration individual ball bearings 150 are disclosed which rest on the wear plate 116. The wear plate 116 has an aperture 117 through which the eccentric 140 passes. It will be apparent that` eccentric pin 140 will cause plate 146 to gyrate when the motor is energized.

The motor 136 may be carried in a bracket such as 160 suitably fastened to the bottom surface of table 12 as shown in Fig. l and transmits rotative powerfrom a pulley 161 via a belt 162 to another pulley keyed to shaft 132` The drive ratio is such that the plate 146 is motivated at a rate of about 600 r.p'.m. which I find to be suitable for my purposes.

The plate motion follows a substantially translatory path due to friction of the rubber pad 102 which prevents rotation, translational cycling of the plate being preferably at a low rate rather than the high Vibrational rates of prior art vibrator machines.

The motion of the plate 146 is substantially translational; that-is, the rectangular area of the plate always remains parallel to itself, any twisting motion being virtually nil., The frictional engagement between the rubber blanket 102 and the top surface of the plate is sucient to maintain the plate in translational motion.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that a person may be placed in traction from head to foot on the table 12 and the motor then started to effect a very low rate of vibratory motion at the small of the back; for example, in the direction of the arrow as shown in Fig. 2,.r Strictly speaking this is not a vibration, but a typev of rapid massage which I nd to be most electiv in'sending waves of motion lthroughout internal structure of the body.4 It is my belief based on tests that the massaging motion at the small of the back on a person placedl in traction has a very pronounced effect in transmitting vibratory or massage forces from head to foot so that the entire body is subjectedinternally to an exercising effect,

Having thus described my invention, I am aware that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit thereof and accordingly I do not seek to be limited to the precise illustration herein given except as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. In a device of the class described, a table, a vibratory element forming an intermediate portion of said table disposed to engage the small of the back of a person lying on said table, including means at the ends of said table for effecting head to foot traction of said person, and means for actuating said vibratory element so as to massage said person with a uniplanar orbital motion while in traction, said vibratory element comprising an electric motor carried by said table and a translatory plate slidable on said table andcoupled with said motor.

2. In a device of the class described, a table, a horizontally orbital vibratory element forming an intermediate portion of said table disposed to engage the small of the back of a person lying on said table, including means at the ends of said table for effecting head to foot traction of said person, and means for energizing said vibratory element so as to massage said person while in traction, said table having a head end and a leg end, said headA end comprising a panel slidable on said table, and a pair of traction means carried by said panel, one such traction means being a head harness fastenable to the head of a person lying on said table and the other of said traction means comprising means adapted to engage the upper portion of the body of said person, both of said traction means being simultaneously movable with said slidable panel, including means operable by a person lying oni said table for effecting sliding of said panel to produce l a required degree of traction.

3. In a device of the class described, a table, a vibratory element forming an intermediate portion of saidl table disposed to engage a person lying on said .table at the small of the back, including means at the ends of said table for effecting head to foot traction of said person, and means for actuating said vibratory element so as to transmit vibrations to said person while in traction at a rate less than 1,000 cycles per minute with a uniplanar orbital motion, said table having a head end and' a leg end, including a slidable panel at said head end on which traction elements are carried for securement to a person lying on said table and a manually operable lever disposed for grasping by said personl and actuation thereof to move said slidable panel for electing traction.

4. In a device of the class described, a table, a vibratory element forming an intermediate portion of said table disposed to -engage a person lying on said table at the small of the back, including means at the ends of said table for effecting head to foot traction of said person, and means for actuating said vibratory element with an orbital motion so as to actuate the body of said person while in traction, said traction means comprising a panel slidable on saidv table, a rockable lever carried by said panel at one edge thereof' and means actuable by rocking of Vsaid lever for effecting aforced sliding of said panel outwardly of said table, including traction elements carried by said slidable panel engageable with said person above the waist thereof.

5. In a device of the class described, a table, a vibratory element formingY anfintermediatel portion` of said table disposed to engage a person lying on said table at the small of the back, including means at the ends of said table for elfecting head to foottraction of said person, and'means for actuating said vibratory element so as to massage said person with an orbital motion while in traction, said table comprising a slidablepanel, means for effecting forced sliding of saidy panel, a traction element `carried by said slidable panel, said traction ele'- ment comprising a pair of bars for` abutting the armpits of a person lying on said table and means for adjusting the position of said bars laterally relative said table. to

accommodate persons of varying size, comprising horizontally pivoted levers carrying respective bars.

6. In a device of the class described, a table, a vibratory element disposed at an intermediate portion of said table adapted to engage a person lying on said table, including means at the ends of said table for effecting head to foot traction of said person, and means for energizing said vibratory element so as to actuate said person while in traction comprising an electric motor, a wear plate supported on said table and secured thereto an eccentric interconnecting said motor with said vibratory element for etecting a gyratory motion of said element, and ball bearing means interposed between said vibratory element and said Wear plate.

7. In a deviceof the class described, a table, a vibratory element forming an intermediate portion of said table disposed to engage a person lying on said table at the small of the back, including means at the ends of said table for effecting head to foot traction of said person, and means for actuating said vibratory element so as to massage said person with an o-rbital motion while in traction, said table comprising a slidable panel, a traction element carried by said panel and means for effecting forced sliding of said panel comprising a rack ixedly secured to said table, an operating lever pivotally carried by said slidable panel, and a pawl intermediate said operating lever and said rack for exerting' force therebetween as said lever is rocked so as to elfect for-ced sliding of said table, said lever extending in a direction to be readily grasped and actuated by a person in traction on said table.

8. In a device of the class described, a table, a vibratory element forming an intermediate portion of said table disposed to engage a person lying on said table, at the small of the back, including means at the ends of said table for effecting head to foot traction of said person, and means for actuating said vibratory element so as to massage said person while in traction, said table comprising a slidable panel, means for etecting forced sliding of said panel, a traction element carried by said slidable panel, said traction element comprising a pair of bars for abutting the armpits of a person lying on said table and means for adjusting the position of `said bars laterally relative said table to accommodate persons of varying size, comprising horizontallypivotal levers carrying respective bars.

9. In a device of the class described, a table, a vibratory element forming an intermediate portion of said table disposed to engage a person lying on said table at the small of the back, including means at the ends of said table for effecting head to foot traction of said person, and means for actuating said vibratory element so as to massage said person while in traction, said table comprising a slidable panel, a traction element carried by said panel and means for eifecting forced sliding of said panel comprising a rack xedly secured to said table, an operating lever pivotally carried by said slidable panel, and a pawl intermediate said operating lever and said rack for exerting force therebetween as said lever is rocked so as to effect forced sliding of said table, said lever extending in an upward direction to be readily grasped and actuated by a person in traction on said table.

l0. In a device of the class described, a table, a vibratory element forming an intermediate portion of said table disposed to engage the small of the back of a person lying on said table, including means at the ends of said table for effecting head to foot traction of said per-V son, and means for actuating said vibratory element so as to massage said person with a uniplanar orbital motion While in traction, said table comprising a slidable panel disposed to support the shoulders of a person lying on said table, a head harness carried by said panel and means disposed intermediate said panel and said table for moving said panel endwise of said table to exert tension on the head of a person fixed in said head harness, and a soft, elongated pad covering the top of said table, said vibratory element and said slidable panel.

11. lIn a device of the class described, a table, a vibratory element forming an intermediate portion of said table disposed to engage the small of the back of a person lying on said table, including means at the ends of said table for effecting head to foot traction of said person, and means for actuating said vibratory element so as to massage said person with a uniplanar orbital motion While in traction, said vibratory element comprising an electric motor carried by said table and a translatory plate slidable on said table and coupled with said motor, said table comprising body` support elements extending in head to foot direction in alignment with said translatory plate and a soft, elongated pad extending substantially from head to foot covering said support elements and said translatory plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 620,318 I-Iavnar Feb. 28, 1899 978,760 Langworthy Dec. 13, 1910 1,529,872 Craig Mar. 17, 1925 1,628,269 AMcBurney May 10, 1927 1,684,459 Spilman Sept. 18, 1928 1,915,841 Warner June 27, 1933 2,036,677 Bergman Apr. 7, 1936 2,284,445 Pettit May 26, 1942 2,660,999 Thornton Dec. l, 1953 2,787,262 Warner Apr. 2, 1957 

